Thursday, April 19, 2012

I have some really nice new and not new young horses that I am having so
much fun with. Three of the horses are going to be for sale very soon: Benny, Juno and Vandy . I think that all three horses are some of the nicest young horses that I
have had in training.

Benny . 4yo Hanoverian gelding by Contucci out Heidekind who is by
Rubinstein.

Benny was bred and raised by Melinda Walton and Larry Smith. This gelding is one of the most exciting young horses I have ever started
and worked with. Not only does he have outstanding quality in all three gaits, but he has the best temperament to match the quality. Benny is very easy to ride, hack and do anything else with. HE IS THE PERFECT HORSE! I am planning on showing him in the four-year-old classes this spring and
summer and I have very high expectations for him!

Juno W: 4yo mare by Jive Magic (Jazz) out of a Wolkenstein mare.

Juno was born and bred in Australia and we flew her over to the US last December. This mare has been amazing us every day since she arrived in the US. She is
so smart and sensible about everything we ask her to do. She is a beautiful
mover and with her black color and her four white socks looks absolutely stunning. Juno is very comfortable and goes in a round frame naturally. We have been
hacking her everywhere and she is as brave as they come! I am planning on showing her training level and in the four-year-old classes this
spring.

Wills Vandy. 5 yo TB gelding .

Vandy is my new, exciting project. He is a stunning-looking gelding and with his beautiful movement he has a great future ahead of
him. I enjoy having Vandy here so much because for me it is like having Sea Lord
all over again. Vandy is so similar in his type , movement and character. I am planning on showing him this spring .

CECE and Amy Hero

Amy is a good friend and student of mine who bought Cece last year. Cece is
a half sister to Benny and has the same great temperament .Amy came riding at the beach with us last Sunday and we had a great day. Amy and Cece will be showing this spring in training level.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

A big thanks to SmartPak for organizing some Official Team Otis Barbotiere Syndicate clothing for Rolex. All of the Otis Syndicate members received a limited edition team hat and jacket that they can proudly wear as their horse gallops around the Kentucky Horse Park next weekend. The Flying Frenchman looks in top condition for his first attempt at a CCI ****. It is a great feeling riding a great horse that has an entourage of 10 owners supporting him along this wonderful journey.

It was fantastic to be eventing back in PA for the first time this year. I took my group of young, up and coming horses out to Plantation Field over the weekend; I rode nine, Caitlin Silliman rode three and Sarah Gumbiner rode one. It was an assortment of horses from novice right up to prelim level.

I was very excited to ride a new horse, Trading Aces, (pictured above and at top - thanks to Charish Campbell for providing photos) for the first time. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to be riding one of the most exciting and classy young advanced horses in the country at the moment! I used this event to get to know “Oscar” better and give him a bit of a cross-country school and he definitely lived up to all my expectations. He just oozes class.

I’m also excited to be working with the American Eventing Owners Task Force: they are helping me finalize a syndicate agreement to attract ten new owners to partner up and get behind this horse. I think he has a fantastic future in eventing.

The other standout performance this weekend was Katie Walker’s Brewster, who finished 2nd in TH – this gelding is going from strength to strength and looking very promising. Katie and Cuyler were in full force at their home event, also cheering on their new English horse Wakefield.

I also used this event as a little bit of a recovery event for Crackerjack and Waranga W after having a spill at their last event I was very happy to see each of them travel extremely well around Denis Glaccum’s cross-country course.

I’d also like to send out my thoughts and condolences to Amy Tryon’s friends and family. I was lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks at the training camp in 2010 at Chattahoochee Hills where I got to know Amy better. Her passing is a sad time for the eventing community.